He is the older twin brother of former footballer Martin Johansen, and played alongside him in several clubs.
Born in Glostrup, both Michael and Martin Johansen started playing for local Copenhagen club Rosenhøj IF at the age of four.
[2] They both went on to play for Kjøbenhavns Boldklub where they made their senior debut in the second-best Danish division in 1990.
They helped the club win the Danish Superliga title in its first year of existence, and in 1996 the twins parted ways as Michael Johansen moved to the English First Division to join Bolton Wanderers.
As AB was relegated following the Danish Superliga 2003-04 season, Michael moved to amateur club Greve IF where he was reunited with Martin Johansen.